Actor Sam Trammell feared he would be dropped from the cast of hit vampire series True Blood after breaking his nose in a surfing accident weeks before he was due to film the pilot episode. The star, 45, landed the role of Sam Merlotte on the U.S. show in early 2008, but he thought he had blown his chance at his big break after his good looks took a knock while he was catching some waves.
He recalls, "It was about two months before we were gonna shoot the pilot and I went surfing... the day after St. Patrick's Day, so I was a little bit tired, a little hungover. So I fell and the surfboard hit me directly in my nose, broke it... and it was a disaster... I got out of the water and was all bloody...
"I went to a clinic and the doctor... sewed me up and everything was fine, but I was really worried that I would never have a career."
Luckily, things worked out well for Trammell and he recently wrapped filming on True Blood's current seventh and final season.
He also featured in hit drama The Fault in Our Stars, as Shailene Woodley's onscreen father.

HBO
After weeks of watching, re-watching, live-tweeting, recapping, analyzing, and debating, the fourth season of Game of Thrones has finally come to an end, leaving a void in both our hearts and our Twitter feeds. Once the fanfare and discussions about the shocking deaths and the major changes from the books finally die down, we will be faced with an unbearable winter without Westeros. How will we carry on without Dany and her dragons? How can we stay calm when we don’t know what’s happening with Tyrion? How will we survive the long months before we get new episodes?
Well, by watching TV of course. Game of Thrones may have ended, but there are plenty more shows with all of the fantasy, politics, blood and nudity that we have come to rely on David Benioff and D.B. Weiss for, and we don’t even have to wait until next year to enjoy them. We've run down all of the shows airing in 2014 that will help fill the Westeros-sized hole in your heart, and how long you have to wait to get your fix. And if that doesn't work, there's still several thousand pages of George R.R. Martin's writing available for you to read. That should help pass the time.
True Blood How Long We Have To Wait: One week until June 22. What It’s About: The seventh and final season of the Southern vampire drama picks up with most of the characters dead or seemingly dead, an outbreak of Hep-V terrorizing the vampire population and everyone gaining and losing characters quicker than alliances shift on Game of Thrones. How It Will Fill the Void: True Blood and Game of Thrones have two key elements in common: blood and nudity. Expect plenty of both in the upcoming season.Airs: Sundays at 9 PM on HBO.
Tyrant How Long We Have To Wait: A week until June 24.What It’s About: The second son of a dictator leader of a foreign country returns from a self-imposed exile in Los Angeles, and must deal with the conflicts that arise between the culture of his homeland and the US and his oppressive father. How It Will Fill the Void: If you’re looking for political intrigue, culture clashes, a struggle for power and a father/son dynamic reminiscent of Tywin and Tyrion Lannister, this is the show for you.Airs: Tuesdays at 10 PM on FX.
The Leftovers How Long We Have to Wait: Two weeks until June 29.What It’s About: Set two years after 2 percent of the population disappears in the rapture, the series follows the rest of the world as they struggle to understand what happened to their loved ones, and attempt to move forward with their lives. How It Will Fill the Void: Like the White Walkers, the Children, and everything Melisandre is doing with the Lord of the Light, The Leftovers centers on a strange, unexplained supernatural phenomenon, and explores the personal drama that results.Airs: Sundays at 10 PM on HBO.
The Strain How Long We Have to Wait: Four weeks until July 13.What It’s About: Created by Guillermo del Toro, The Strain is about a viral strain that turns people into horrifying, bloodsucking monsters that are terrorizing the population. It’s also based on a trilogy of books by Chuck Hogan, in case you’re all caught up on A Song of Ice and Fire. How It Will Fill the Void: It’s got horror, terror, suspense, excitement, supernatural elements and – we’re assuming – plenty of gore. Plus, it has Walder Frey himself, David Bradley, presumably on a mission to traumatize as many viewers as humanly possible.Airs: Sundays at 10 PM on FX.
Showtime
Masters of Sex How Long We Have to Wait: Four weeks until July 13.What It’s About: The pioneering work on human sexuality done by William Masters and Virginia Johnson in the 1950s. The second season will see Masters and Johnson grow closer, and the challenges it presents their personal and professional relationships. How It Will Fill the Void: All of the nudity and explicit sexual situations, but presented in a way that not only serves a narrative purpose and raises important questions about society and the human body, but also isn’t degrading towards women. What a novel concept!Airs: Sundays at 10 PM on Showtime.
Outlander How Long We Have to Wait: Two months until August 9.What It’s About: Based on the novels by Diana Gabaldon, the series follows Claire, a World War II nurse who is mysteriously sent back in time to the 1700s. There she is forced to marry Jaime Fraiser, a romantic and chivalrous Scottish soldier, and she is torn between two very different lives. How It Will Fill the Void: It’s a sweeping period epic that incorporates sci-fi, adventure, war, and romance that should help you move on from the tragic ending of Jon and Ygritte’s relationship.Airs: Saturdays at 9 PM on Starz.
Sleepy Hollow How Long We Have to Wait: Four months until September 22.What It’s About: The surprise hit of last year centers on Ichabod Crane, who is sent forward in time to 2014, where he solves supernatural crimes with Det. Abbie Mills, and the two of them attempt to stop the apocalypse. How It Will Fill the Void: Witty banter, well-matched partners, a supernatural threat, colorful characters, a spooky witch you should probably be wary of and some truly gruesome crimes – throw in a giant and it’s practically Game of Thrones’ fourth season.Airs: Mondays at 9 PM on Fox.
Gotham How Long We Have to Wait: Indeterminate, although it’s likely to premiere in September or October.What It’s About: Before Bruce Wayne grew up to be Batman, it was Det. Jim Gordon who cleaned up the crime and corruption on the streets of Gotham, even if that meant taking on some super villains of his own. How It Will Fill the Void: Like Ned Stark in King’s Landing, Jim Gordon is a noble man trying to bring justice to the murder, manipulation and scheming that runs amok in the city. Let’s hope he fares a bit better.Airs: Mondays at 8 PM on Fox.
Better Call Saul How Long We Have to Wait: Six months until November. What It’s About: A spinoff of Breaking Bad that focuses on Bob Odenkirk’s Saul Goodman, a lawyer who will do anything to keep his operations running smoothly. How It Will Fill the Void: You’ll probably become addicted to it, just as you were to Breaking Bad, which will help pass the time until Game of Thrones returns. Airs: On AMC, although a night and time hasn’t been revealed yet.
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Everybody, break out your tissues. The trailer for The Fault in Our Stars has arrived, and it promises to make everyone cry just as hard in theaters as they did when they first read the book. Based on the novel by John Green, the film follows the love story of Hazel Grace Lancaster (Shailene Woodley) and Augustus Waters (Ansel Elgort), two teenagers who meet in a cancer support group, and the ups and downs that come with living you life and falling in love when you're terminally ill. The Fault in Our Stars also features Nat Wolff as Hazel and Gus' friend Isaac, Laura Dern and Sam Trammell as her parents, and Willem Dafoe as Peter Van Houten, the famously reclusive novelist behind the couple's favorite novel, An Imperial Affliction.
Fans of the book will be thrilled to see their favorite characters finally come to life onscreen and will be especially pleased to note that some of the most beloved and quoted lines will have made the transition along with Hazel and Gus. Sure, we knew that they would find a way to work in the famous "Okay? Okay." tagline that fans hold so dear, but it seems we will also get the opportunity to hear Gus' declaration of love and Hazel's gratitude for the "little infinity" they shared be spoken aloud as well. But, as exciting as that is, hearing the same dialogue from the book makes us a little bit apprehensive, and raises an important question: will The Fault in Our Stars still work as a film, or is the story something that is best experienced on the page?
As lovely as it is to hear Gus confess his love to Hazel, the trailer draws a great deal of attention to the fact that lines that worked so well in text sound a bit awkward and clunky when they're actually spoken aloud. The sentiment is still there, along with all of the significance the words had when they were written on the page, but rather than having the same poetic impact that they did in the book, they simply come across as cheesy when Elgort says them onscreen. The book has been criticised somewhat for having characters that don't actually speak like teenagers — how many high school students do you know who regularly describe themselves with violent, yet moving metaphors? — but books afford a bit more leeway in terms of the language that is used to express a particular sentiment. Granted, the dialogue could simply seem clunky because of the way that the trailer is edited; chopping up any long speech into fragments and then reassembling them would make the most eloquent thoughts sound awkward.
20th Century Fox/YouTube
Then there's the issue of the way that Hazel and Gus' love story comes across through the trailer. Instead of highlighting the dry, dark humor with which they reference their disease and the challenges that it presents them, the trailer focuses more on the tragedy of their relationship than on the "sick" way that they looked at the world. Green's book never shies away from discussing the more tragic aspects of their story, and there are times that the story veers into sentimentality, but on the whole, the trailer seems to present The Fault in Our Stars as just another maudlin tearjerker about two kids with cancer.
Of course, all of our reservations may turn out to be unfounded once we actually get to see the film. With a weird edit, or the wrong choice in background music, trailers can easily make a love story seem like a slasher film, or a dark comedy come across as a sentimental drama. We're hoping that's the case for The Fault in Our Stars, since taking away the characters' humor in favor of focusing on the tragedy harms both the plot and the central characters. Amping up the love story for the trailer might also help make it more appealing to moviegoers who aren't familiar with Hazel and Gus, and thus, wouldn't appreciate their off-color jokes about cancer. It would be a logical choice, especially considering the small controversy that the poster's tagline, "One sick love story," kicked off. It works for the characters, who would probably have said something similar, but for anyone who hasn't read the books, it just seems to be in bad taste.
Hopefully, once the film comes out, we will find out that we've been worried for no reason. After all, Green himself was heavily involved in the film, which should mean that all of the awkwardness and melodrama that the trailer seems to present will be smoothed out in favor of a final product that better conveys the tone of the film, Hazel and Gus. Although, either way, we'll likely be too busy crying our eyes out to nitpick.
The Fault in Our Stars will be released in theaters on June 6.
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Cinzia Camela/WENN
Shailene Woodley should be afraid, very afraid: Willem Dafoe has been cast in the upcoming adpatation of John Green's bestseller, The Fault In Our Stars. Dafoe will play Peter Van Houten, the angry, alcoholic recluse who wrote Hazel Grace's (Woodley) favorite book, An Imperial Affliction. The character appears in several pivotal scenes that take place in Amsterdam, and his novel holds a great deal of importace to the plot. Green announced the news via Twitter on Friday.
It's an interesting casting decision, especially when looked at in context with many of Dafoe's other roles. He's made a career for himself playing terrifying and sinister characters, and while Van Houten is certainly mean— and even a bit scary at times — it seems like quite a departure for the actor. While it's still too soon to tell if Dafoe will choose to explore the character's softer, sadder side, it's pretty much guaranteed that his scenes are going to be intense. Although, it might be hard to even see them through all of our tears.
The film's cast also includes Nat Wolff, Sam Trammell and Laura Dern, and is expected to be released in 2014.
More:Mike Birbiglia Joins 'The Fault in Our Stars''Divergent' Teaser: Shailene Woodley in ActionWatch the 'Divergent' Trailer
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We're not quite sure how, exactly, a romantic dramedy about a fractured family and budding love affairs is supposed to involve a frolicking farm bird. But as we can tell from these new exclusive images from the movie Crazy Kind of Love, there is, indubitably, a living wild turkey making its home amongst the emotionally ravaged human cast members. The film, which stars Virginia Madsen, Sam Trammell, and Zach Gilford as members of a family attempting to repair their relationships, might boast romance, drama, and comedy, but it's clearly got an air of mystery to it, as well: that surrounding the question of what the heck these people are doing with that turkey. Peruse the images for clues, and check out Crazy Kind of Love in select theaters May 31.
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Previously, on The X Factor: L.A. Reid got out of his chair. A mentally unstable Britney Spears fanatic had his life ruined on national television. Simon Cowell ogled someone's butt. Talent was discovered, maybe.
This week, we kicked off in Kansas City, Missouri. Simon had the day off, because he contracted chlamydia from last week's failed contestant Alexa Berman, or maybe he just had a cold. Either way, he was replaced with a generic Irish man named Louis Walsh. Google tells me that the very same Louis Walsh discovered Westlife and Boyzone, so color me impressed. It was also L.A.'s birthday, and Demi Lovato was very fake excited about it. She ordered him a cake, and Britney sang the happy birthday song. "Oh, that's such a great idea!" Demi exclaimed. I know. Totes original.
First up this week was Rizzloe Jones, an 18-year-old ADD case who referred to himself in the third person and made Blake Shelton look edgy. He was really nerdy and practically albino, so when he told L.A. that he was going to freestyle rap, the famed founder of Justin Bieber was understandably skeptical:
But L.A. gave him a chance, asking him to freestyle about X Factor, and somehow it went over well. Like, there's absolutely no way that he made this thing up on the spot, but Demi was still really excited when he incorporated both her name and marshmallows into his beats:
"It was really good," L.A. said. "Rizzloe Jones — remember that name," Louis added. We probably won't after next week. Britney compared him to Vanilla Ice, which I think she meant as a compliment. So, he's through. This is a $5 million talent competition.
Next: Cece Frey and the ballad of Deangelo Wallace
Next up was 20-year-old mail clerk Cece Frey, who tried her best to pull evil Jedi mind tricks on her competition. Her methods were questionable: She asked a boy-girl platonic singing duo if they liked each other, like, more than friends, and fake-flirted with Rizzloe. She thought she was Shakespeare's Iago, but ended up being more like Leroux's Christine — because despite the terrible fake face tattoo, she was actually very talented. Cece started out with "Unchained Melody" and it was all wrong, but luckily she kept a copy of "Ain't No Other Man" by XTina in her back pocket. Her version was sexy and vocally stunning, and Demi instantly developed a totally reciprocated girl crush. This was all well and good, but what most excited me about Cece was that she was the first contender to utter reality TV's most historically ubiquitous phrase: "I'm not in this thing to make friends." You guys, I hope that Cece goes really far in this competition. We didn't get a bitch last season, and it just wasn't fair.
Then we met this season's Josh Krajcik, a 39-year-old named Vino Allen. I was immediately drawn to him, because his name means "wine" in both Spanish and Italian, which is something I drink a lot of to get through early audition episodes of The X Factor. He sang "Trouble" by Ray LaMontagne, and it was beautiful, soulful, and thoroughly enjoyable. The judges were pleased, and he was through. So, if you like the maths, that was three yesses in a row — meaning that someone had to f*** up, and soon.
That someone ended up being 19-year-old Deangelo Wallace, who purposefully acted horrible in order to get on TV. Congratulations, you did it. He also spoke in the third person, and started off by saying he was better than Britney and the rest of the judges. If you're interested in my general feelings about Deangelo, please see below:
Ugh. I'll keep going. He "sang" something by beloved international humanitarian/feminist Chris Brown, and the judges dramatically left the arena to protest his general awfulness. "I think they worship the devil, all of them," he said as he marched offstage. Then he stole a body-mic that was apparently worth $3,000, and was arrested for a misdemeanor. Moving on.
Next: Talent!
Soon we met 37-year-old road worker Tate Stevens. Tate wore a cowboy hat, so we knew right away that he was going to sing a country song. The judges asked Tate what he would do with $5 million (make a record), and Tate said that he would have "a big-ass party" — and all of us would be invited. From the looks of things, L.A. was really excited at the prospect of being invited to Tate's party.
Tate sang "Anything Goes" by Randy Houser. It was good, but is anyone who watches this show actually going to vote for this kind of music? I know X Factor prides itself on its diverse kaleidoscope of talent, but Tate seems too niche for this kind of competition. Anyway. "You're my favorite so far," Britney gushed. "Holy cow, yes!" Tate, have fun learning how to dance at bootcamp.
Then we were back in San Francisco, again. "Is Simon still sick?" Demi wondered. Her concern/this timeline would have been believable if everyone wasn't wearing the same outfit and hairstyle from both San Francisco episodes last week. Anywho, back in San Fran we met a group called Citizen, aged 21-25. One or all of them was probably named Justin. "The music lives within all of us," claimed Justin # 2. The boys sang "Don't Let Go" by En Vogue, and Simon really loved it:
"I didn't get it," Simon said. "It was ten years outdated. It's like you're in a time machine." A valid critique, but this is coming from the guy who prides himself on the creation of One Direction. Regardless, Citizen was through.
13-year-old Diamond White had a baby voice and a stripper name, but she was also really poor and we heard her sob story, so I knew she'd do okay. Call it the Rachel Crow defense. "My dad doesn't really, like, associate himself with me," she said. "So yeah, I don't really have a dad." She sang "It's a Man's World," and it was pretty good. Not the best we've seen, but good enough for boot camp.
Then we journeyed back to Austin, Texas, where we were treated to a montage of actually talented singers. First was 19-year-old Ally Brooke, who claimed to have big dreams — Ally wanted to sing, act, have her own clothing line, create a perfume, own a TARDIS, solve the Goldbach conjecture, sit on the Iron Throne, and figure out the meaning of Tree of Life. She sang "On My Knees" by Jaci Velasquez, and was through.
Also through were 16-year-old Brandon Hassan, 15-year-old Normani Hamilton, teen to 20-something girl group Sister C ("We are all sisters, and our names start with a C") and cute-boy duo Jeremiah and Josh. Britney really enjoyed the inoffensively handsome J&amp;J performance:
"I wish you could wake me up in the morning," she said. Simon was offended by Britney's vocal infidelity: "Finacee in the house!" he said, as the camera flashed to an indifferent Sam Trammell Jason Trawick. She meant like an alarm clock, bee-tee-dubs.
NEXT: Panda.
Finally, we met the highlight of the night: 42-year-old morbidly obese contestant Panda Ross. Panda was wearing a gold necklace that said "single," just for Simon. I needs to get me one of those. For Simon. Panda had also just been released from the local hospital — where she suffered from a case of "the pneumonia" — yesterday, and she busted herself out of there just to make it to the audition.
"It's Panda, like the bear," she told the judges when she marched onstage. Panda then explained that her mother was in jail when she had her, and that said mother's cell-mate was a white lady. Therefore, the name Panda totally made sense. She was sweet, silly, and enthusiastic, and her rendition of Sam Cooke’s "Bring It On Home" was a soulful highlight of the evening. The judges gleefully took in her performance:
... Then let her through. Unfortunately for Panda, that's when the true drama began. She left the stage in a state of post-performance ecstasy, but it was short-lived: Her pneumonia cough made its sneaky, triumphant return. "Don't let Simon see this," she wailed, as the ambulance carried her off in a stretcher. Too late, Panda. We're still rooting for you.
Capping off the night was 22-year-old Jessica Espinoza, from the south side of San Antonio. She sang Pink's "Nobody Knows," and the judges loved it. "I honestly don't even know where to start, because you have, like, a sparkle in your eye that you only see in people that have the X factor," Demi said. Yes, but was she through? "Um, duh."
So, there you have it: Hours four and five out of nine in this X Factor live audition madness. Bear with us, here.
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[PHOTO CREDIT: Fox]
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The trailers for Hope Springs might lead you to believe it's a romantic comedy about a couple trying to jumpstart their sexless marriage but it causes more empathetic cringing than chuckles. Audiences will be drawn to Hope Springs by its stars Meryl Streep Tommy Lee Jones and Steve Carell and Streep's track record of pleasing summer movies like Julie &amp; Julia and Mamma Mia! that offer a respite from the blockbusters flooding theaters. Despite what its marketing might have you believe Hope Springs isn't a rom-com. The film is a disarming mixture of deeply intimate confessions by a married couple in the sanctuary of a therapist's office awkwardly honest attempts by that couple to physically reconnect and incredibly sappy scenes underscored by intrusive music. Boldly addressing female desire especially in older women it's hard not to give the movie extra credit for what writer Vanessa Taylor's script is trying to convey and its rarity in mainstream film. The ebb and flow of intimacy and desire in a long-term relationship is what drives Hope Springs and while there are plenty contrived moments and unresolved issues it is frankly surprising and surprisingly frank. It's a summer release from a major studio with high caliber stars aimed squarely at the generally underserved 50+ audience addressing the even more taboo topic of that audience's sex life.
Streep plays Kay a suburban wife who's deeply unsatisfied emotionally and sexually by her marriage to Arnold. Arnold who is played by Tommy Lee Jones as his craggiest sleeps in a separate bedroom now that their kids have left the nest; he's like a stone cold robot emotionally and physically and Kay tiptoes around trying to make him happy even as he ignores her every gesture. One of the most striking scenes in the movie is at the very beginning when Kay primps and fusses over her modest sleepwear in the hopes of seducing her husband. Streep makes it obvious that this isn't an easy thing for Kay; it takes all her guts to try and wordlessly suggest sex to her husband and when she's shot down it hurts to watch. This isn't a one time disconnect between their libidos; this is an ongoing problem that leaves Kay feeling insecure and undesirable.
After a foray into the self-help section of her bookstore Kay finds a therapist who holds week-long intensive couples' therapy sessions in Good Hope Springs ME and in a seemingly unprecedented moment of decisiveness she books a trip for the couple. Arnold of course is having none of it but he eventually comes along for the ride. That doesn't mean he's up for answering any of Dr. Feld's questions though. To be fair Dr. Feld (Carell) is asking the couple deeply intimate questions so if Arnold is comfortable foisting his amorous wife off with the excuse he had pork for lunch it's not so far-fetched to believe he'd be angry when Feld asks him about his fantasy life or masturbation habits.
Although Arnold gets a pass on some of his issues Kay is forthright about why and how she's dissatisfied. When Dr. Feld asks her if she masturbates she says she doesn't because it makes her too sad. Kay offers similar revelations; she's willing to bare it all to revive her marriage while Arnold thinks the fact that they're married at all means they must be happy. Carell's Dr. Feld is soothing and kind (even a bit bland) but it's always a pleasure to see him play it straight.
It's subversive for a mega-watt star to play a character that talks about how sexually unsatisfied she is and how unsexy she feels with the man she loves most in the world. The added taboo of Kay and Arnold's age adds that much more to the conversation. Kay and Arnold's attempts at intimacy are emotionally raw and hard to watch. Even when things get funny they're mostly awkward funny not ha-ha funny.
The rest of the movie is a little uneven wrapped up tightly and happily by the end. Their time spent soul-searching alone is a little cheesy especially when Kay ends up in a local bar where she gets a little dizzy on white wine while dishing about her problems to the bartender (Elisabeth Shue). Somewhere along the line what probably started out as a character study ended up as a wobbly drama that pushes some boundaries but eventually lets everyone off the emotional hook in favor of a smoothed-over happy ending. Still its disarming moments and performances almost balance it out. Although its target audience might be dismayed to find it's not as light-hearted as it would seem Hope Springs offers up the opportunity for discussion about sexuality and aging at a time when books and films like 50 Shades of Grey and Magic Mike are perking up similar conversations. In the end that's a good thing.

Religious zealots and ancient Mayans have predicted the end of the world for centuries. But thanks to a handful of public “whoopsies” and that pesky leap year situation screwing with the Mayan calendar, we’re looking good so far. True Blood, however, is in full on End of Days mode.
Of course, that’s not to say the show is over, because its plot cup continues to runneth over. The steam behind this teetering conglomeration of vampire manifestos, battles of werewolf bravado, self-love, fire monsters, fairies, and goopy, liquid visions of mystery vampires continues to pump. But the Bon Temps we knew two years ago is all but gone. The only thing that’s remained the same is Fangtasia, but that’s not even within the city limits.
The first character to burst our bubble is Bill. So much for Jessica’s assertion that he and Sookie “is different from Sookie and anyone else.” Those days are gone and Eric continues to be the only ruling vampire with a decent head on his shoulders. (Which is good news for Eric-Sookie shippers. Sorry, those of you who’ve thought Bill was a shoe-in. After all, if we could predict which supernatural being Sookie truly belonged with, half the fun of this show would be gone.)
While the entire New Orleans crew celebrates the night’s killings like a group of horny coeds recounting their various shroom-sponsored visions as they all stroke each other and their overblown egos, Eric is sickened. And just in case we weren’t sure who’s side we’re supposed to be on, Salome orders Newland to fetch humans for dinner, with a side of baby for the creepy pervert with the melted face. Yep. Totally evil.
When Bill doesn’t leave the room after such a request, it’s clear that he and Eric no longer play on the same team. Bill has officially gone Sanguinista. We see this in action when Salome feeds Bill a young mother. As the girl screams, he drifts back to the last moment he had with his dying daughter as he refused to turn her into a vampire. Somehow, the anger of having left his daughter to die when vampire blood could have saved her acts as enough of a measure of guilt to convince him to rip the poor victim tied to Salome’s bed to pieces.
In contrast, Eric’s on a mission to convince Nora she’s being duped. While she’s babbling about seeing Lilith, Eric brings up his Godric sighting, sharing their maker’s disgust with the display in New Orleans. But it’s all for nought: Nora simply says that Godric died a blasphemer and that Lilith will eventually show Eric the way. Like the empty-eyed drone she is, she kisses Eric and expresses her faith in the vampire god, leaving Eric totally alone in his questioning of the new initiative.
Finally, Salome moves to take out a significant portion of the mainstream movement. It’s obvious Russell isn’t the villain she hoped he’d be, he’s too busy flirting with Steve Newland to help. Instead, it’s Bill who gets to be the man with “Muah-ha-ha” worthy plan: bomb all the Tru Blood factories so that vampires are forced to feed on humans only. When Eric gives Bill the look that speaks every possible version of “what the f**k” Bill simply says he’s “evolving.” And just like that, our entire True Blood world is turned upside down.
Think about it. When Bill was “with” Russell in Season 3, we knew he wasn’t. The series gave us clues. When he was revealed to have tracked Sookie like an animal, we were given reason to believe that it wasn’t as bad as it looked. But now, Bill is simply following the bloodiest faction, the one that is about to tear a rift in the world of vampires and of all supernaturals, and the only sign we get is Eric’s confounded mug staring at him as he drinks down a glass of blood. Bill has joined the dark side.
Next: Is Sookie Really Ch-Ch-Changin'?
And while Bill is on the dark side, Sookie is turning to the light. Jason intercepts her while she’s trying to use the rest of her light and convinces her that her very many logical reasons for wanting to be normal (she blames herself for her parents’ death, she’s a “freak,” she can hear strange men think lewd things about her at the bank) don’t outweigh the fact that her light is a connection to their parents and a possible way to help find out who killed them. It’s an endearing moment between siblings, so nice that I actually echoed Sookie’s “Pshhh” regarding Jason’s comment that her love for Bill was real. The sibling bond looks good on her.
The conversation does the trick and Sookie and Jason pay a visit to Claude and his sisters at the Fairy Burlesque. They reluctantly agree to help while looking over their shoulders awaiting elder punishment - we’d better meet these terrifying elders soon, because the threat of potentially pissing them off is an excuse that’s growing rather thin. The fairies meet on the bridge where the Stackhouses died because by some sort of fairy law, Sookie has the ability to join with her mother’s memory at the site of the crash. Of course, she very easily sees the night of the crash, complete with a conveniently placed hat to keep us from seeing the guilty vampire’s face. But wait, there’s a completely nonsensical twist! Despite the fact that making a connection with a vampire is supposedly impossible (and doing so would also anger those pesky elders, which Claude knows for a fact even though the whole thing is supposed to be impossible - fishy much?), Sookie somehow switches to seeing from the vamp’s vantage point and witnesses Claudine using her light to shoo the vamp away. Claudine calls the vampire "Warlow" when she zaps him and while they don’t know who Warlow is, Claudine clearly does.
However, we’ll have to wait until next week to learn more about this Spaghetti Western vampire in a rain-soaked trench coat. All we get is Sookie’s fanged vapor Voldemort appearing out of thin air in her bathroom to say she’s his and he’ll find her. We’re going to go ahead and give the series the benefit of the doubt: the vapor monster was likely a mental communication as a result of Sookie’s unprecedented connection with a vampire. But did it need to show up in her bathroom looking like the second coming of O-Town’s “Liquid Dreams”? Let me answer that for you: No.
And while it still doesn’t get top billing, we have the Pam and Tara storyline, which continually proves to be one of the better elements of Season 5. This week, we learn how Mama Pam deals with Tara being bullied at school while bartending. Some bratty barbie from Tara's high school days shows up at Fangtasia wearing Elle Woods’ rejects collection and spews racist commentary out of her mouth like she’s being paid to do it. When Tara snaps at the blatant racist (and obtuse projection of that person from high school that most of us love to hate), Pam apologizes to the girl and chastises Tara while the girl brags about her four-bedroom house (woo, girl: dream big) and matching BMW.
And while in the real world, most mothers would teach their daughters that karma or some other force would take down the mean ol’ rich brat, Pam does this lesson as only Pam would. She drags Tara to the basement under the guise of punishing her, but since her mad face and her happy face are identical, it’s no wonder we were all confused. Pam’s got the wretch tied up in the basement and glamors the girl so that she thinks she is Tara’s slave. It seems that Tara will shy away from her true nature, but then she does it: she actually steals cartoon Dracula’s line, “I want to suck your blood.” Which, is probably supposed to be the signal that she’s finally okay with who she is now. What timing. Tara comes around just as vampire politics are hitting the fan thanks to everyone’s favorite former good guy, Bill Compton. Pam bends the rules every once in a while, but she still generally lives by a code of moderation. What will happen to her and progeny when and if the Sanguinista’s movement gains real traction in Shreveport and Bon Temps? Let’s hope Eric manages to bring his happy little family to the right side of the battle.
Next: Sam's Battle Gains Another Ally.
But alas, there’s not only one battle on this show. There aren’t even just two, but we’ll start with the second one. Don’t want you getting winded just yet. (I’m already panting like one of the many dogs Sam has shifted into.) The big battle a-brewing very separately from the Sanguinstas is clearly destined to eventually clash with the vamps, but unfortunately for fans of plots that are easy to follow, we’re not quite there yet. The hate group hunting supernaturals is still largely Sam’s problem, but this week, he gets an ally.
Jessica is easily tricked into coming home with a supposed fang banger at Fangtasia, but she should have known from the moment he told her “he tasted like a milkshake” that the guy was scheming. (Word to the wise: even non-vamps should stay away from men who use that line.) He actually brings Jess to the Hater headquarters where they offer her up to Hoyt as an initiation present. They lock them in a room together until Hoyt kills her, but he can’t do it.
Luckily, we’re spared any false declarations of love in the name of freedom. Hoyt just lets Jess out because he’s not totally heartless... yet. He doesn’t actually get Jess the help he promised her - she’s fully rescued because of Sam’s shifty interrogation techniques. And, like your mother said it would, Karma comes back to bite Hoyt for his deception: it doesn’t take the other Haters long to find out what Hoyt did and he soon finds himself staring down the barrel of one hateful firearm.
And while Sam's now got Jessica on his side, he has another issue on his hands: Luna is going nuts. After Sam convinces his lady that they can’t run off and systematically hunt the Haters, she gets so angry she shifts and becomes Sam. Only, she can’t shift back. Rut-roh, Scooby. We’re forced to pay witness to Sam Trammell’s best impression of a sassy, angry lady for the rest of the episode.
Finally, the nightmare ends when Sam is taking care of Sam-Luna and they share a creepy, weekday afternoon episode of Goosebumps moment when they realize they’re “a lot alike” and apologize to one another. Right when Sam’s about to kiss himself, Sam-Luna turns back to Luna and immediately begins throwing up (hey, it was her or us) like Tommy did when he was in the habit of shifting into people.Obviously, the two of them are going to be in danger because a war is brewing, but can we knock it off with the Luna-death fake-outs, True Blood? Is it not enough that these two are being hunted? Now they have to put up with involuntary shifting and their insides fighting their way out? One major peril at a time, please. It’s not like we have 20 other people to worry about... oh wait.
And speaking of 20 other characters, Alcide is still very much an important character. We can tell because the episode gave him almost an entire minute of viscious, steamy werewolf sex with his new girlfriend/trainer, Rikki, for ab-solutely no reason. (Get it? Because, dayum.) And the writers are lucky I remembered anything after that scene, which may be the closest thing to actual porn we’ve ever witnessed on this show, because all that happened afterward was a mess of a packmaster challenge. Alcide refused to hunt the teenage boy J.D. insisted upon using for the challenge, then he chased J.D. when the drugged up wolf threatened to kill the boy anyway. It’s not clear whether Alcide jumping back in to defend the boy after he forfeited his challenge made him a viable candidate again, but it doesn’t really matter because Martha and Rikki have to save him from J.D.’s ability to drop a heavy rock on his gorgeous head. We all know Alcide is just about the strongest werewolf we know (which I guess isn’t saying much), but his defeat is a clear sign of J.D.’s being on V. That damned drug and Jason’s penchant for dumb, adorable commentary might be the only two things that have stuck around since Season 1.
But Season 1 has clearly abandoned Lafayette and the bundle of other secondary characters that waltz into his story this week (but hey, at least we’ve got more plots converging and making our lives easier). After having a peaceful vision of Jesus sitting with him on his way back from Mexico, Lafayette plans to leave all the magical nonsense behind (and I really, really wish he could). But, Arlene and Holly need him to hold a fake séance so Terry will stop yammering on about the smoke monster that’s chasing him. Lafayette demands $300 dollars and it seems Arlene is willing to pay up because we soon find her, Holly, Patrick, and Terry at a table with Lafayette. After Lafayette tries to bulls**t his way through the procedure, the Iraqi woman actually does come back and she offers to stop Terry’s (and the True Blood audience’s) suffering if he kills Patrick. We already know Patrick is a despicable human being, so it’s no wonder the coward bolts for the door halfway through Lafayette’s explanation. And as much as I love Scott Foley in real (TVFelicity-based) life, I hope for nothing more than for Terry to waste that obnoxious character and rid us all of this plot plague.
Can you believe it? The plots are actually syncing up, which means we may not spend the rest of the season mumbling like crazy people trying to remember what happened on the previous week’s episode. If this continues, we might actually get to feel normal again. Or as normal as one can feel while watching Stephen Moyer suck blood-red corn syrup off an actress’ neck, anyway.
Follow Kelsea on Twitter @KelseaStahler.
[Image: HBO]
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Moyer jumped at the chance to go topless with co-star Trammell for the racy dream sequence, and admits he has asked bosses to put him in a similar scene with Alexander Skarsgard, who plays his onscreen adversary Eric.
He tells The Advocate, "We had an awful lot of fun that day, and I happen to think Sam's a very good-looking man. Not that that particular scene was a challenge, but anything that seems like it could be a challenge in the script is just meat for an actor. So I looked at that scene like, 'Oh, my God, that's fantastic. I can't wait to do that!'
"Alex and I would absolutely embrace that (a gay sex scene). Last year, when (real-life wife Anna Paquin's character) Sookie had her fantasy about the two of them with her, we even suggested it."
The Brit, who is expecting twins with Paquin, has also hit back at criticism the show has alienated audiences by becoming "too gay".
He adds, "Is there such a thing as too gay? We live in a very different world than we grew up in, so if people can't embrace that aspect of our show, then that's a shame. I certainly don't think it's specifically gay, but our show ticks a lot of boxes for a lot of people.
"We have an incredibly broad audience, one of the widest demographics in terms of sexuality and age groups, so obviously we're doing something right."

Well, it looks like Bon Temps is going to have itself a witchfaery hunt very soon. In the new preview clips below, we finally see Debbie's death being brought to light and exposed.
For those who can't remember, here's a little refresher course: In the last episode, Debbie’s parents found Alcide and want to know what happened to her, he explains that he gave up his wolf-y claim over her and that she had been cheating on him. In the first clip, Alcide has to break the news to Debbie's parents, and things get a little tense. Things are about to get really tricky (though really, this is True Blood, so probably not) for our fair Sookie. Then, Sookie's on the warpath because she wants to be arrested. What?
And that's not even all, because we have not one, or two, but three new clips for you—and in one of them we see Tara ("stupid b***h!") being introduced to her...um, grandfather Eric. Gee, everybody looks real excited about all of this, Pam!
Check out the clips below and let us know what you think—are you excited for the new episode?
What do you think about the new clips? Are you excited for this week's upcoming episode? Let us know in the comments!
True Blood airs Sundays at 9pm on HBO.
Follow Alicia on Twitter @alicialutes
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Made film debut as an intern at a tabloid TV talk show in "The Hotel Manor"

Summary

A Tony-nominated stage-trained actor, Sam Trammell was best known as the sexy shapeshifter Sam Merlotte on "True Blood" (HBO, 2008- ). Besides an impressive theater résumé, Trammell also appeared in "Autumn in New York" (2000) with Winona Ryder and Richard Gere, co-starred on the cross-country road trip comedy "Going to California" (Showtime, 2001-02), and earned guest-starring credits on everything from "House" (FOX, 2004- ) to "Dexter" (Showtime, 2006- ). His talent - and buff physique - were on full display, however, on "True Blood," where he quickly became a breakout character on the Southern-fried vampire cult smash, able to transform into a collie (or anything else) to protect Anna Paquin's Sookie Stackhouse. With his star on the rise, fans hoped that he would continue to land high-profile jobs so they could see more of him - in human form or otherwise.